La Gloria’s Mexican Street Food

So after being friends with a fellow Devils fan on Facebook for a few years, it was finally time to meet up in San Antonio! He was so kind to swing by the hotel and bring us to the Pearl Brewery District. Not too far from downtown, you’ll find some great bars and restaurants there. There’s also some shops, a farmers market, and the Culinary Institute. The buildings and brewery have been around since 1881 and with the numerous apartments, retailers, restaurants, and cafes, it’s become the neighborhood for locals and tourists.

Pearl Brewery

We met up with his friends at Blue Box Bar. The first bar in Pearl that opened back in May 2012. They offer hand-crafted drinks served up by an in-house mixologist.

Blue Box BarCheers to new friends!

I tried one of the daily specials written on the board. A gin based cocktail with berry and mint. It was very refreshing and gone in a flash!

Done!

After getting acquainted over a couple of drinks, it was time for dinner. My friend suggested La Gloria. Chef Johnny Hernandez spent years traveling throughout Mexico to developed the tasty menu based on the street vendors and taquerias. Now we’ve been eating Tex Mex for the past couple of days, but this was the good stuff you can’t find on the River Walk.

Dinner at La GloriaBenchesHola!

We opted for an outdoor table and there was a bit of a wait for our party of eight. No problemo. We ordered some drinks at the outdoor bar while we waited. Margaritas, of course!

Menu

We were seated after a little while with new margaritas in hand! Salud!

Outdoor Table

The menu sounded really good. I had no idea what to get. My friend and I agreed to split a few dishes to try as much as possible. True Filipino style! We decided to start with the Chorizo con Rajas Queso Fundido – melted cheese with chorizo and roasted poblano peppers.

Chorizo con Raja Queso Fundido

It was delicious! The hot melted cheese with bits of salty chorizo was heavenly. It was even better scooped up and put on a warm flour tortilla. So good! This is a must-try.

Cheesy Goodness

The next dish was the Arrachera en Adobo Molcajete – skirt steak in a chile pasilla sauce served in a stone mortar.

Arrenchera en Adobo

It had nice tender chunks of skirt steak and the pasilla sauce had a nice smoky flavor, a bit milder than expected, but still good.

Chili Pasilla Sauce

Then our array of tacos started arrived one after the other. We tried 3 kinds. The Al Pastor (marinated pork), the Pescado Baja Califas (battered fish), and the Puerquito Echado (spiced pork). We may have ordered too much, but had to try it all!

Al Pastor

The Al Pastor had savory pork with chunks of sweet pineapple, a nice combination of flavors.

Pork and Pineapple

The fish tacos were much better than the ones I had at Rio Rio, but they were still a bit heavy as expected. The grilled fish would have been a better choice.

Fried Fish Tacos

That’s okay because the favorite of the night turned out to be the spiced pork tacos. These were awesome. The pork didn’t have much spice, but had tremendous flavor. It was nice and crispy. It reminded me of shredded lechon kawali (Filipino fried pork belly). Put it on a warm tortilla with some chopped onions and cilantro – simply amazing!

Puerquito EchadoSpiced Pork and Onions

It was a delicious dinner with great company. There was no way we were calling it a night without some shots!

Tequila ShotsA Great Dinner

It was only the beginning of a fun night. We went to a bar outside San Antonio in my friend’s neighborhood afterwards. Good times!

Good Times

If you’re in the Pearl District and craving Mexican food, give La Gloria a try. I highly recommend the queso fundido and some tacos. Enjoy!